


The Fall of the Tanaka Empire

by Complete_Otakuness



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: AU where Gundham didn't break the contact elevator first, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempt at Humor, Gen, Writing Exercise, i meant for this to be funny but realized i'm not that funny, so Nekomaru went to Grape Tower, sonia calling chiaki a shortcake made my day, spoilers for chapter 4, the four dark devas deserve more screentime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:08:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28533438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Complete_Otakuness/pseuds/Complete_Otakuness
Summary: !!Spoilers for SDR2 Chapter 4!!What if Gundham failed in his first attempt to kill Nekomaru and their battle ended in a draw? How is that possible? Well, you may be surprised.This is for a writing exercise because I need more practice and thought that Gundham might be a good character to practice with since he's so tough to get right.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime & Nanami Chiaki & Sonia Nevermind, Nidai Nekomaru & Tanaka Gundham
Kudos: 10





	The Fall of the Tanaka Empire

**Author's Note:**

> Guys I'm not gonna lie, this turned out more serious than I meant it to be.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Gundham was nervous. Though he would deny it with every fiber of his demonic being, he was apprehensive about going through with his plan. Standing in Grape Tower, he thought how weak he was, to even have a sliver of regret, when everyone was slowly dying and he had the power to end it. The Forbidden One should not have such foolish thoughts when he was destined to one day rule the world! Though, maybe it would be the underworld now. How fitting for a tyrant that even the bravest of souls cower in fear in the presence of his overwhelming power. 

Taking in a shaky breath, Gundham felt something soft brush against his face. His eyes met with the sleepy ones of Jum-P, who tilted its head at him before continuing to rub on his cheek. A soft smile threatened to take the place of Gundham’s focused expression but he fought it. He had to stay vigilant, everything was ready, he was only waiting on Nekomaru’s arrival. 

Gundham shifted his weight from one foot to the other when he heard the heavy metal steps of his target. His heart quickened with belated anticipation. He knew Nekomaru would understand, despite being a mere mortal. Though that might not be true anymore, with his body of metal and eyes that cried fizzy drinks.

The robot stopped after taking a few steps past the entrance and Gundham finally lifted his gaze to meet the face of his chosen victim. They both stared at each other for seconds that seemed like individual lifetimes, knowing that only one would be leaving the tower alive.

Careful thoughts were put in order, and Gundham broke the silence. “Sensing even my subtle killing intent… as expected of you, Nidai.”

“This scorching, stinging, tense atmosphere… I’ve been a team manager so long I’d nearly forgotten this… It’s great!” Though Nekomaru’s face was unable to show emotion, Gundham could tell the two of them had a common belief. They didn’t want everyone to starve to death in the Funhouse just because they refused to kill. It was insulting the progress they had made thus far, surviving for so long even when some were victims to their urges and the twisted delight of a cursed stuffed animal.

After both exchanged words of challenge, the fight began. Though Gundham could have easily torn Nekomaru to scrap metal, he had to follow his plan. The strength of a million horses was nothing to scoff at, even for a supreme overlord such as himself. So Gundham dodged every swing, forcing the other to chase after him, the speed of each punch becoming faster until an arm got close enough to allow Maga-Z to jump to it and crawl up to Nekomaru’s shoulder. This went unnoticed by the latter, who seemed to have gotten annoyed.

“Grr, what’s wrong?! I thought you were going to give this your all! It’s not like you to give in to cowardice so easily, Tanaka!” Nekomaru kept at it, not letting up. It would only be a matter of time before Gundham’s stamina wore down.

But he allowed a short chuckle, knowing he had already won. “Kehehe, a mere mortal such as yourself could never begin to grasp the power I have at my disposal! Bow before the might of the Tanaka Empire!”

“You seem awfully cocky for one who-” Though Nekomaru would have liked to finish his sentence, it was not meant to be. Right at that moment, disaster struck. Maga-Z pressed the Goodnight Button and Nekomaru’s consciousness was terminated. Before Gundham could even begin to think about going through with the rest of his plan, it was quickly derailed by Nekomaru’s inanimate body falling on top of him. 

Gundham just lay there, shocked. He tried to push the robot off of him to no avail. How much did his new body even weigh? The demons of the underworld were against him, they didn’t want a new leader. Stopping him from executing his scheme like this- how wicked! 

Frantic squeaking surrounded him as his Four Dark Devas desperately attempted to move the slain golem off. A nice sentiment, but a futile one. Seeing as the clocks were all set back two hours, it would be a while until he got help. That would be the worst case scenario, everyone would figure out the two fought with the intent to kill. So Gundham and his Devas tried with every fiber of their beings to move Nekomaru off, to no avail. It would seem… their battle had come to a draw.

\---

Hajime had no feeling in his limbs. Not surprising, considering he hadn’t eaten in days. But… he couldn’t just lay in bed and wait for the end to come. He had to go to Monokuma Tai Chi… or everyone was in trouble. Sluggishly worming his way out of bed and trudging through the disgustingly green hallway, he looked over to the clock in the lounge. Five minutes ‘til seven. 

The walk down the stairs was terrible, and when he got to the bottom, he found Sonia staring at him.

“Ah, good morning Hinata!” Her eyes seemed to glow with excitement.

“Sonia…? You’re really energetic…” 

She started giggling to herself, “Hinata, when did your face become Mont Blanc all of a sudden? Can I have a bite? Just the corner…”

Hajime blanched, she wasn’t serious… was she?

“Don’t do that, you’ll get sick.” He turned to the new voice, to find Chiaki making her way towards the two.

“And now there’s an adorable little shortcake! Ah how lucky!” 

“I don’t think we can keep going on like this… Sonia’s starting to sound like Komaeda. And I’m not a shortcake, I’m Nanami… probably.” How could she be unsure of what her own name was?! She was right though, they couldn’t go on, especially not with their newly implemented morning exercise. 

“It’s almost time, let’s go.” With that, Chiaki started walking toward Grape Tower, dragging a delusional Sonia along with her. Hajime let out a long suffering sigh before he followed the two girls. He could see that the door to Grape Tower was already open at the end of Grape Hall. The boys must already be there.

As the three walked through the entrance, they all froze with surprise. Huh? This… wasn’t how Monokuma Tai Chi was supposed to go. Or had that stupid bear already switched their routine?

Laying on the floor in the middle of Grape Tower, was Nekomaru. And pinned underneath the robot was… Gundham?! It had to be… his hamsters were pushing at one of Nekomaru’s limp arms with all their might. As the three stared, the hamsters paused in their attempts and they all leaned up against the arm like tired construction workers on their lunch break. Hajime could swear one of them even wiped sweat off its forehead.

“Are you fools all just going to stand there with your mouths agape or are you going to assist me in removing this demented ogre?!” Gundham’s frustrated voice snapped them out of their stupor. Wordlessly, Hajime made his way over to the fallen robot. Finding that Chiaki and Sonia were now on either side of him, they all nodded to each other and heaved. The hamsters had decided that they were now off their lunch break and they began to push at Nekomaru’s arm again. 

And so, with teamwork and the power of hamsters, Nekomaru’s body was rolled over, freeing Gundham. He quickly sat up and gasped, his breathing had been hindered by the crushing weight of metal and he couldn’t be completely unsure that all his ribs weren’t cracked in some way.

All eight of them sat there, panting, before Chiaki spoke up. “You did it, right? Though he’s not actually dead yet. There was no announcement.”

It took Hajime a second to register what she said, but when he did his eyes widened. Gundham didn't… did he? Why would he…? 

Sonia took her turn to talk next, “Tanaka? Did you really…” the next words came out as a whisper, “try to kill him?”

Gundham looked up from where his Devas had been scolding him for his stupidity, “Have you honestly deluded yourselves into thinking that it’s better to sacrifice your life for morality? You are denying the wishes of the fallen warriors and your own instinct to survive.”

“B-but that still doesn’t excuse murder!” Hajime sputtered.

“So you would resign yourself to waiting for the claws of causality to drag you to the Gates of Hell? You are abandoning life under the guise of righteousness when really you quiver in the shelter of cowardice! Nidai is not a victim of resignation! He knows there’s only one way to escape this Funhouse and he acted accordingly.”

Hajime fell silent, and Chiaki jumped in. “So what happened, exactly? You two both tried to kill each other?” 

“Kehehe-” Before Gundham could get any further in recounting his epic, a shout cut through Grape Tower.

“COACH NIDAI!” Everyone turned to see Akane running toward them. She unceremoniously shoved Gundham from his position on the floor to kneel in front of Nekomaru’s unconscious body. “What happened?!”

The previous four exchanged glances before Chiaki made a decision, “How about instead of worrying about that, we wake Mechamaru up from his nap.” It was an obvious mistake to tell Akane that Gundham and Nekomaru had a death battle. She wasn’t known for her brains and would most definitely lose her temper at Gundham.

They all knew they’d have to discuss it further when the rest of the boys got to Grape Tower, and that it was weird that Monkuma wasn’t there to lead his Tai Chi class, but at least they had stopped a murder… right?

**Author's Note:**

> Little did they know that Gundham and Nekomaru would continue to fight for the good of them all!
> 
> It's a bit tough to write something funny when two people are trying to kill each other and the rest are starving to death. Also, could you tell that I took lines straight from the game? Yeah... I disappoint myself too.
> 
> This is for a writing exercise because I need more practice and thought that Gundham might be a good character to practice with since he's so tough to get right.


End file.
